Glenn and Vicky Couture from Berwick start their holiday shopping Sunday including picking up presents for their grandchildren at a local Somersworth retailer.
John Huff/ Staff photographer

DOVER — Shoppers turned out in force this weekend to local retailers seeking the perfect gift for the names on their lists.

Brianna DeCanton, 8, said she’s been browsing stores in the Fox Run Mall with her father for a couple weeks now but still hadn’t found what she wanted for her mother’s gift this Christmas.

“She likes to cook,” Brianna said, though there were no kitchen items on her “idea list.”

“Well, I made it so I have a lot of ideas to pick from,” she said.

Shopping with her father, Jake, is something she looks forward to each year, she said, and it usually involves a treat for herself.

“We get hot chocolate after,” she said.

Wandering around the mall like young Brianna, hundreds of shoppers were just beginning their holiday shopping, completely baffled at what they’d be wrapping for Dec. 25.

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John Huff/Staff photographer
Glenn and Vicky Couture from Berwick start their holiday shopping Sunday including picking up presents for their grandchildren at a local Somersworth retailer.

“I just wing it!” Geraldine Shempshire said, who had just begun her shopping over the weekend hoping there would be more bargains the closer it was to Christmas.

“I don’t go out for Black Friday and I really don’t actually like to shop much,” she admitted.

But with five grandchildren looking forward to the big day, she anticipated spending her entire weekend getting their gifts.

At a clothing retailer, where an employee folding colorful sweaters and arranging scarves asked not to be named or identified, shoppers were reportedly really happy with the selection of items this year.

“It’s been kind of the same style of clothing the last few years that we’ve sold. So this year, people seem a little surprised by what they find,” he said.

He also observed that people were keeping a budget in mid this year more so than in years passed.

“They are really aware of what they are spending,” he said of shoppers who are looking at price tags more often than not.

Shirley Krimple was one of those shoppers and wasn’t afraid to admit it.

“I love shopping. I’m a shopper. But I have to stick to my guns when it comes to spending,” she said.

Krimple said that’s why she took extra time in selecting the gifts she wanted to find for each member of her family.

“I don’t mind spending the money, but Christmas gifts aren’t about money. It’s about showing thoughtfulness for one another,” she said.

Larger retailers saw consumers determined to get the best bargain for items on their gift lists, while smaller merchants, like those in the downtown Portsmouth area, welcomed buyers who had a more customized search in progress.

Destinations like Runner’s Ally and Serendipity were popular for those enjoying a late Saturday morning in Market Square.

New to the area, Hernandez was doing most of her shopping locally to become acquainted with the area.

“I love the shops all around and I’ve been waiting for a day off to go look through them on my own,” she said.

While most shoppers Foster’s encountered had already begun their Christmas shopping before the weekend, one of the last before the holiday, there were a couple who said they would likely be visiting stores Christmas Eve.

“I always wait til the last minute. I think it works better,” Pauline Gruber said.

Glenn and Vicky Couture were on a mission at Walmart in Somersworth to find “Lalaloopsy” dolls for the young girls in their family.

With nine grandchildren to shop for, the Couture’s came prepared with a list. They said they finished shopping for the adults in the family earlier in the day and were finishing the toy segment at Walmart.

“This is the toy stop,” they said.

With various items in their shopping cart, the couple was checking things off their list at a steady pace and after browsing a few isles with little success, discovered a collection of Lalaloopsy’s to choose from.